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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Clorox Doesn't Know Dads At All

If you haven't seen the latest post by Clorox talking about the top six things that new dads do wrong, well you are in for quite a ride. The post has since been taken down but before that happened, I managed to take a screenshot from their site. Keep in mind, this is not edited in any way, shape, or fashion whatsoever.

Do big brands like Clorox really believe that new dads are this incompetent when it comes to the raising of their children? Why must the bumbling dad always be the brunt of the child raising joke? Dads are so stupid. Clorox must be thinking "They are too busy watching sports on TV, scratching themselves to even notice." At least that is the image that they portray in their latest attempt to be funny that just wasn't. Chris Routly, of The Daddy Doctrines got a response from them on Twitter.

As a stay at home dad who makes most of the purchasing decisions when it comes to the products that are in our home I am definitely more likely to pass on Clorox products as a result of this post. Not only does it imply that dads lack good decision making but it says that we "lack the fine motor skills to execute well". If this is true then I am surprised that the three kids that I care for day and and day and day out for the last five years as a stay at home parent are even alive.

Gross over exaggeration of the abilities of men as the primary caregiver are never going to fly with the men that take an active role in raising their children. Alienating men who may be using your products for their families is not only poor PR but Clorox just renounced any confidence they had in men who take care of household responsibilities.

They said that it was meant to be funny but it sure wasn't written that way. As for the author, I hope you take your own advice and actually wear your hoody backwards because if I wrote this, I wouldn't want to show my face either. The author paints a picture of what it is like to be a new dad like a scene out of The Hangover. Real life is not like this at all.

Stay at home dads like myself couldn't believe that the post was real. Some of them were so offended they told our community that they would immediately switch brands. While I understand that one Tweet or Blog post can harm a relationship, this post seemed more like a break up. Turns out, Clorox didn't know us at all.